Mark Williams Reportedly Traded to Suns, Hornets Get No. 29 Pick, 2029 1st-Rounder
Mark Williams is on the move after a draft day trade on Wednesday.
Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Charlotte Hornets traded Williams to the Phoenix Suns for the No. 29 pick in Wednesday's draft and a 2029 first-rounder. Charania added that the 2029 first-round pick will be the least favorable of Cleveland, Utah, and Minnesota's picks and will be top-five-protected.
ESPN's Bobby Marks also reported that the Hornets acquired guard Vasilije Micić in the trade. Micić previously played for Charlotte in 2023-24 and started last season with the team before being dealt to Phoenix. He'll now return to his former team.
The Hornets previously traded Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers at the NBA trade deadline, but that trade, which was for Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish a 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap, was rescinded after Williams didn't pass a physical.
The Hornets disputed the voided trade, but Williams ultimately stayed in Charlotte for the rest of the season.
Williams has spent much of his young career injured, played 43 games as a rookie, 19 games in 2023-24 and just 44 games last year. His ailments this year included back and foot injuries.
Williams was surprised after Los Angeles physicians deemed him ineligible.
"Yeah, there’s not really much I can do," Williams said. "Like I said, I’ve been playing. You went from shocked to excited, back to shocked. You control what you can control."
Williams is a solid player when healthy, posting 15.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. If Phoenix gets that version of him, he could help the team improve tremendously.
Williams wasn't the only frontcourt addition for the Suns on Wednesday as they also picked up Duke star Khaman Maluach with the 10th overall pick that they got in the Kevin Durant trade.
Many of Phoenix's issues boiled down to a lack of size last year, and now the Suns have a pair of 7-footers in Williams and Maluach. Meanwhile, the Hornets, still deep in a rebuild, selected UConn forward Liam McNeeley with the 29th pick and will have another first-rounder in 2029 as a future asset.
